OOC:This is a game that's set in my Land Of The Eshal setting.It's a very simple game and basically involves a series of skirmishes to push back invaders called the Heinal.Info on them can also be found under my Eshal thread.

IC:Seated astride his Ranchowen steed,Commander Harun snapped his formidable jaws with anger and irritation.Here he was on a vital mission to the shores of the Vaet on a mission of vital importance,with only half the warriors from his Shark Company with him.

The cursed,intefering Cuada,Kwcaho had managed to get the High Priest to order the War Chief to keep half the warriors under Harun's command, behind.The cursed Cuada had argued that sending away most of the the troops in charge of guarding the settlements,would embolden the maruding Lurdi packs to attack the larger ones,something that Harun privately scoffed at.Everyone knew that those filthy,misbegotten abombinations were cowards that would never have the guts to attack a settlement that had a large detachement of warriors guarding it.Besides, the warriors of the Baracuda Comapny had plenty of fighters to spare and could have stepped in to fill the guard positions that would soon have been vacated by Harun's warrirors.

No,this was the arrogant Cuada showing Harun that with a snap of his slimy little claws,he could get the High Priest to do absolutely anything for him.

It was his way sending a message to an Eshal commander that he had best hold his tounge as to what he thought of the Cuada.Looking back on this ,Harun regretted being vocal about his contempt for the manipulative Cuada who seemd to have sunk their claws into every area of Eshal leadership.Well,almost every area.He knew the War Chief despied the slimy little salamanders as much as he did and had wanted to send all the warriors of the Shark Company to aid him on this misssion of vital importance.But even he could not go against the wishes of one of the royal clutch.

And this was indeed a matter of vital importance.The reports brought back from the afflicted costal region,spoke of entire villages being totally emptied of their residents.Totally emptied as in there was no one to be found.There were no hacked and mutilated bodies,no carnage,no gore,as there would be with a Lurdi or Curd raid.Just the razed remains of houses that had watched their residents vanish without a trace.Well,it didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened.

Someone had dared to enslave some of the Brave People!A fate worse than death.A deep fury consumed him,as he thought of the hideous misfortune that had befallen his brothers and sisters.Thank the gods for the fact that there was at least one thing he could do to console his people.

When he and his warriors finally tracked down those responsible for this vile crime,he would rip their beating hearts out with his own hands and offer them to Wrota.

Commander Harun

Race:Eshal

Class:A veteran Eshal war leader who has led the Shark Company into battle against ravening Lurdi and Anura hordes on countless ocassions.Is much respected by his fellow warriors.

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

((OOC:Thanks,Captain.I was afraid that this thread would be ignored like quite a few others here.))

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

White Sand Sifting slowed his breathing and pulse. Blood slowed, stopped- tongue curling into throat- brain slowly deconstructs all situations- vision darkening. Sand released the final whisper of air from his lungs, and his first self departed his body, leaving the second self on guard against creeping death.Here, in the Spirit World, there are not lies, came a spiritual echo, rippling across the vague plain. The hills and forests surrounding his small hut, situated upon a hill, were blurry and indistinct, muted and flowing. Trees seemed to seep into stone, and stone into water. In contrast far ahead lay the Mountains, in the distance, razor-sharp, clean lines of brilliant-white-snow and void-black-rock, lying against the starry-blue-black-white-red-sky. White Sand Sifting's first self was forward, then- he stood upon the plain. Incredibly-distinct stalks of wheat brushed around his being-notbeing-everywhere-nowhere feet. He knelt.Towards him came two echoing, jittering candle-flames of mortal spirit, flickering iridescently, shying away from dangers to their fragile light. They passed him, could not see his first self invisible in the Spirit World.Onward came the one he sought- the ritual had been a success. Green-glowing-ever-shining-bright-causes-growth-spirit, who was known in the Mortal World as the Guardian of Si'angang Field, approached, and the wheat stretched toward him like a sea of golden arms."Going?" came the whispering."Far away." went the reply."Send? Danger." second whispering."Send. Only way." second reply."Never again." came a certainty.White Sand Sifting's soul inflamed, and his first self was suddenly restored to his second, and third, and fourth, into infinity, and he was sitting inside himself, in his hut in the Mortal World, the Living Land, and a God with a robe of leaves was cracking a black egg upon his head."This can only be undertaken once. It may be that you shall never return. The world is changed since we raised the Mountains, and I cannot tell you what may be beyond," the leaf-robed one was saying."Still, it is the only way," Sand replied. The yolk cascaded over his head, black and red, dry and wet at the same time, and

Kwcaho was a fool, Femnon thought as she rode her ranchowen well behind Harun, the commander of Shark Company. This sort of threat has been forseen, and he sends not the full might of the brave people to met it, but an abreviated company. It was not that Harun was lacking as a leader, he was an exceptional commander. It was the matter of the might of the Helial. Torrad, their last refuge had to be preserved, no matter the cost. There was no place left to retreat to.

What drove these monsters? Femnon suspected that the Tacredi were behind it. It was all she could do to suppress a shudder. To her embarassment, her skin shifted from its usual lavender, speckled with white spots to a livid orange. The shfit lasted only a short time as she corrected her chromatophores back to the normal, neutral color. After four centuries, she had still not completely mastered her own skin, no wonder some of the other First-born still considered her but a child among their ranks.

Harun's greatest worry right now was that they might not be able to reach the costal region in time to stop more raids.They had set out 5 days ago on the great waterway,that streched all the way from the vast temple complex of the High Priest to the salt flats and mangrove swamps of the coast,where the empty villages had been found by amessenger of the High Priest sent to enquire why the colonies had not sent their anuual tribute.The report had reached them a 2 days later,along with the near hysterical messenger.That maent that a weeks had transpired since then and he could only pray to the Gods and beg them that no other raids had happened during that period.

There were a few things that had convinced him this was like nothing the Brave People had ever met before.First was the fact that the unfortunate inhabitants had been taken as slaves.The Lurdi did not care about taking slaves.Being the savage beasts that they were,they would see the residents of the Eshal settlers as meals rather than as a source of slave labor.Maybe they had deccded to bring them away to their filthy dnes and eat them there?No,that never happened.The terrible Ludi hunger that drove the foul things,demanded that they eat their victims on the spot.But even if that had happened,why were there no bodies of the warriors who must have died defending those under their protection?Surely they could not be taken alive?The same messnger who brough this terrible news,also told them that that Lurdi raids on other parts of the costal lands had stopped.During his journey back,he had passed through other costal colonies and asked the local priests and head warriors whether any Lurid packs had attempted to attack them and try to take some of them alive,rather than butcher them on the spot.The answer had stunned him.There had been no raids at all.Normally the warrirors guarding every colony would be kept busy fightitng of the Lurdi,who never seemed to grow tired of attacking colonies.And ambushes by them on warriors of the Puffefish company that carried out patrolls there,had ceased too.To someone who did not know the Lurdi,it seemd as if that they were almost avoiding the Eshal.Why?Was something keeping them away?

Maybe Femnon could give him some answers.The Cuada seeress was Kwcaho's assitant and had thus been present during the briefing that the War Chief and High Priest had given him.To his amazement,she had looked shocked when it was mentioned that everyone in those colonies had been carried off.

Usually nothing fazd the Cuada.But she looked as if the Moment foretold in the Prophecy it's self had come.The look of horor on her face,was that of one who is faced with a menace that one knows but has not expected.Very interesting.He had tried to get answers from her after the briefing was over,but she had clammed up and had refused to answer him.Typical of her kind to keep dark little secrets.Later,she had suprised him again by insisting on coming with him on his mission.Why would one of the First Born wish to accompany him on a mission of war?The First Born were there to offer advice,not to help the Brave People carry out wars and raids.Well,no matter.He would get his answers when they reached thier destination the next day.Then she would talk.Oh yes,she would.

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

Femnon set motionless on the back of Ranchowen, the beast itself just as motionless, they both seemed to ba carved of a single piece of stone rather than two seperate living creatures. The mind of the riding beast was a storm of scents and instincts, but controlling the chaotic swirl was easy for the cuada, she let a tendril of her power caress its mind, setting the impulses to ease, and instilling the basic programmed initiative to obey completely.

"There are mer-folk close. Pathetic raiders, I sense." she said, recieving the information from the ranchowen, distilled from its olfactory glands. She was dubious that the mer-folk had anything to do with the matter at hand, but their presence could not be overlooked. If nothing else, they should be brought under the slave yoke, or send to the next life.

Harun jerked his head in her direction.''Curd trained,no doubt.Mer -folk and Curd seem to have a certain kind of affinity for one another.I suppose filth recognizes filth.''He swung around and bellowed out orders,calling out to his warrirors to line up in ranks and form a barrier aound Femnon.

''A pity we will have to slay all.The High Priest would have liked to decorate the stakes outside the shrine of Worta with new skulls.So would have I.About the only thing these vermin are good for,is sating the apetite of the God.

Raising to his lips,the Tuca that hung around his neck,he produced a hideous wailing that seemed to echo all around. Then he gave a ferocious battle-cry.''Come to me,children of a tainted god!Become food for the jaws of the Shark!''

Out of the surounding aquatic vegatation,swarmed mef-folk rebels,armed with traditional Lorhals and clubs that had to be of Curd design.Again Harun felt that regret gnawing away at him.It was just too bad that none of them would be feeding the God.

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

OOC:I think I'll scrap this thread.My skills as a GM are somewhat lacking it seems.Next time,I'll do a lot of thinking,before I start a thread here.

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

OOC:Moderator,please delete this thread.It was a little too ambitious for my first try at being a GM.

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson